Hello, Jimmy! You're alive!Only just. I got knocked off my bike today. A van driver didn't see me and opened his door and I crashed into it. Three seconds later and I'd have been under that van and completely mashed up.

Nasty. Nice beard, by the way.I did my first singing performance with the beard the other day. That was an interesting experience. I also flew an aircraft for the first time yesterday, too. I was in a little private plane to do a gig in France and the pilot allowed me to take control of it. He said: "Just ease this forward," but I was a bit keen. He was completely panicking going: "It's not a fighter jet!"

Your voice has taken on an appealing huskiness.It's age (1). You can't really stop that. I had my throat checked because I was concerned and my vocal cords are pristine, apparently. Have you ever seen vocal cords? They look quite sexual.

You've used them to great effect on your plaintive reprise of Smalltown Boy (2).I'm really pleased with it and glad that I can retain a bit of the emotion that was in the original. It's strange because I spent maybe 15 years being a bit embarrassed by that song because I thought it wasn't that good compared to other lyricists' words.

It actually compares lyrically to the Beatles' She's Leaving Home.I'd never thought of that! I understand now that it was a very emotional cry from the heart but for a long time I just thought it wasn't very well expressed.

Your new album (3) is a disco endeavour, would that be correct?It's organic disco - everything on it is real. It sounds beautiful. There's one synthesiser but even that's a Mellotron from the 70s.

Is disco a much-maligned art form?It's highly underrated. People think it's easy and throwaway but it's got such a complex structure to it. Of course there is trashy disco but well-executed, emotional disco is very special.

Has the album got a title yet?It's called Homage. I like the idea of lots of regional accents saying the word Homage. If you say it in a Glaswegian accent it sounds kind of dirty. Aye, I got hommaged.

If you were a resident of Scotland (4) how would you vote on independence?I still haven't thought it out properly. For someone who doesn't live there, when I go back to Scotland it's very weird for me. I'm Scottish and I was born there and but in my heart I'm a Londoner. When I first came to London, it was so special for me in terms of youth culture and gay culture, that's when I came alive. I'm an absolute Londoner, 100%.

Looks-wise, have you noticed how you and Alan Shearer (5) appear to be morphing into each other?I'll tell you what, if I looked anything like Alan Shearer I'd be fucking hop-skipping and jumping down the street. Jesus Christ! Alan Shearer – what a little sex bomb!

When a red-headed man like you finally shaves off his hair, does the prejudice immediately stop?Isn't it funny how redheads have gone from being abused to being exotic? It always struck me as strange that people had such disdain for red hair yet they still wanted to dye their hair red. I always think naturally red hair looks incredibly strong, particularly on women.

At the height of the Communards' fame, Richard Coles (6) "thinks (he) bought a speedboat in Ibiza". Were you aware of that purchase?Really? Was it a tax-dodge? I'm going to have to investigate that. He thinks he bought a speedboat in Ibiza? That's hilarious.

Before pop stardom beckoned, you were an apprentice baker at Greggs (7). Can you still whip up a batch of buns?Not at all. You're joking. It was just a case of tipping these big bags of flour into a massive machine and I couldn't even get that right. That's how I got the sack: I was always too high or drunk coming out of discos to go to the bakers.

Is it fair to say you used to hold closeted gay artists in contempt?Yes and if I look back on that time I can see where it came from. Now that I'm older, I understand that it's up to the individual to decide who they are or what they are. But I was fuelled by the passions of sexual politics. This was a time when you'd be standing on the tube platform wondering which group of skinheads was going to throw you on the tracks that night.

You're very much a people's pop star, aren't you? Not the tantrums-and-tiaras type?I think that's because I sort of fell into this. It happened by accident, and I was always a bit uncomfortable with it. Apparently fame has the same effect on the brain as cocaine and there was a part of me that just couldn't live without it!

Have you read Morrissey's autobiography?No, I haven't and I probably wouldn't because I'm not that interested.

How would you feel if fame was taken away from you?Well, it was. I slowly became less famous and less successful. That was very difficult. It was waning I was suddenly like, Where do I go from here? It all got a bit messy really.

I remember meeting you at The Garden (8) in 1984 and saying: "You're very quiet." You said: "It's a called a fucking hangover."I've always had such a big mouth. And I was very defensive. Oh dear. How rude.

Do you still drink alcohol?Not for a couple of years now. Talk about having some clarity. I feel so much better in every respect. Alcohol is a very powerful chemical – some people can handle it and some can't. I couldn't.

You were in love with Donny Osmond as a young lad, weren't you?God, yes. I had a poster from Jackie magazine on my bedroom wall. My poor parents must have thought I was completely bonkers. I'd have Donny on the wall then I'd be listening to Donna Summer, then David Bowie then Connie Francis. They must have been wondering: "What's going on this boy's head?" Which is a question I'm still asking myself.

Can your falsetto (9) actually shatter glass?I did do it once in Newcastle City Hall. We were doing a sound-check and I hit a particularly piercing note and it cracked some glass. It was amazing. Not everyone can say they've done that.